Three Egg Hunts and a Birthday

Michael's birthday is 4-5-06. This is very cool. Apart from the extreme ease on the memory, it also happens to be withing a week or so of Easter every year. And so the inevitable has happened. We visited my favorite in-laws this weekend in Oklahoma and had an egg hunt/birthday party for Michael. This was actually his 3rd hunt, since we took him to a few local ones here last weekend. He was a pro by the end by golly. Here are a few great moments from the trip. Don't forget to follow the link for the flickr account on the right hand column of this page to see more pictures.

The easter themed birthday cake I made. He loved it!

Ahhh, the thrill of the hunt. Again.

"Victory is mine!"

Our Easter tradition

My family has the great tradition of separating all the commercial Easter things (eggs, candy, Easter bunny) from the spiritual side of the holiday. To this end, we started the tradition of a spring party. Ever since I can remember, my siblings and I would eagerly anticipate the Saturday before Easter--the spring party. We would wake up, have an egg-stra special breakfast ( Cheesy, I know, but I couldn't help myself!), and then dye eggs. After we finished that activity, the adults would go outside and hide the eggs. Now to confess truly, I might have peered through the closed curtains a few times, but I never saw anything good. Then the doors were opened and we were off! There were kids flying in every direction in search of our special dyed eggs. Meanwhile, inside, Mom was putting together the easter baskets full of enough candy to make a little girls imagination go giddy. After we made sure all of the eggs were accounted for we dove into our candy with heedless anticipation, making ourselves entirely sick for the rest of the evening. And that, my friends, is how we celebrate spring at the Chalk house.
When Sunday came around, it was about Christ. The one true author and finisher of our salvation. We went to church in our various pastel hues, and spent the afternoons together, finishing with a wonderful Easter dinner celebrating the true reason for the season--the resurrection of our Saviour.
And so the tradition continues.........

I Passed!

The results are in -- for the next 5 years I am an official educator in the state of Texas (2 tests and a lot of stress later). I don't actually have any plans for teaching in the near future, but it's easier to keep up a certification than to let it expire and try to renew it later. It was quite the pain to get my certificate switched over from Utah--with the lack of teachers around here you think they'd just trade straight across. But it's all done now so I can sit back, relax, and enjoy the power. HA HA HA! (That was my super-villain laugh, in case you couldn't tell. I actually threw my head back and drummed my fingertips together too).

Baby #2 On The Way!

Michael at Grandma's

Michael always has such a great time in Houston. This trip was no exception. Here are some of the highlights for him.

Seriously, it doesn't get more fun than climbing up and down and up and down.

Running around at the board walk.

Feeding sting rays.

Being spoiled by my Aunt Christine.

Watching the fish with Uncle Michael

The Wedding, Part Deux

This weekend was my brother's open house in Houston. I know you have no idea who these people are, so you'll just have to read the captions!

These are my nieces enjoying the food
(and as we all know that is the most vital component to a good open house!)

Why can't everyone be this excited to cut the cake?

This was the amazing backdrop my dad and mom (pictured there on the far left ) made for the event. It's not a very good picture of it I'm afraid.
This is where Dustin spent the open house. He's hiding out in my parent's bedroom with my brother Michael. I would drag him out every once in a while to talk to people.